The Voice as Knowledge Operator of Choice

The voice knowledge operator is examined with three scenarios in this chapter: hesitation in the nonverbal but vocal part, language, and familiarity relationship which, then, directs to the mother tongue issue. Communication forwards to nonverbal channels with notions manifested in the responders’ replies, introducing paralanguage and hesitation as a medium of interaction. Scenarios are investigated in an interactive narrative with the implying question what would you have done and why for pilots and air traffic controllers who offer their own reading and evaluation. This question is commonly used in NASA’s ASRS, and the reader virtually interacts with the experts. Eleven responders with conventional alias names narrate their vivid insights: specialized fighter pilots (Neos Aghialos, Eleftherios Venizelos, Dimokritos Alexandroupolis), a multi-experienced helicopter commander (Ippokratis Koos), iconic civil aviation pilots (Ifaistos Limnios, Diagoras Rodios, Stan Dardman, Palios Ellinikos), a prominent accident investigator Megas Alexandros, and high-skill ATCs Ikaria Ikaros and Oia Santorinis. Then, the Helios flight is analyzed in conjunction with nonverbal and verbal communication signals with the pair of F-16s in Renegade scramble. The hesitation scenario is used with an incomplete tower call, after a takeoff clearance was received. Language directness and familiarity scenario investigate the reasons for bypassing the standard phraseology. Interaction continues with perception, action, and confirmation. With ATC’s roles as the “eyes and ear on the ground,” concepts like pilot decision-making, explicit vs tacit knowledge, observation, and deliberate practice like “self-monitoring” are presented (among other themes). Pilot’s interpretation depends on multiple factors which assemble to “triage,” the aviation instinct, and Langewiesche’s “buoyancy.”